There is hardly any other place in the Federal Republic of Germany where the extent to which broad segments of the population have renounced social cohesion is as evident as in the Free State of Saxony. Heidenau, Bautzen, and Schneeberg have become synonymous with a right-wing subculture, while Leipzig-Connewitz has become synonymous with a left-wing subculture. They not only “call state authority into question” (Markus Ulbig), but even more so the very foundations of coexistence based on Articles 1–19 of the Basic Law—the inherent dignity of all human beings, with or without a German passport. In Saxony, therefore, research on social cohesion and (cultural) integration is particularly closely linked to the need for action at the state, municipal, corporate, church, and civil society levels.

For this reason, a nonpartisan research consortium was formed in November 2015, comprising representatives from Chemnitz University of Technology, Dresden University of Technology, the University of Leipzig, Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, the Institute for Cultural Infrastructure in Saxony, and the Rothenburg Police Academy. They have been collaborating for some time, in some cases since 1994. Representatives include, among others:

Prof. Dr. habil. [Social Anthropology] Heidrun Friese

Institute for German Studies and Communication at Chemnitz University of Technology

Chemnitz

Chair of Intercultural Communication

Prof. Dr. [Political Science] Stefan Garsztecki

Institute for European Studies at the Technical University of Chemnitz

Chair of Cultural and Regional Studies of East Central Europe

Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Prof. Dr. habil. [Urban Studies] Prof. h.c. Dr. iur. h.c. Matthias Theodor Vogt

Faculty of Managerial and Cultural Studies, Görlitz, at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences

Professor of Cultural Policy and Intercultural Cooperation

Director, Institute for Cultural Infrastructure in Saxony

Prof. Dr. hab. [British Languages] hab. [Linguistics] Sabine Asmus

Research Center for Minority Languages at the University of Leipzig

Prof. Dr. habil. [Slavic Studies] Eduard Werner / Edward Wornar

Institute for Sorbian Studies at the University of Leipzig

Chair of Sorbian Studies

Prof. Dr. habil. [Sociology] Anton Sterbling

Saxon Police University (FH), Rothenburg

Professor of Sociology and Education

In the fall of 2016, the research consortium—particularly through the collaboration between the Institute for Cultural Infrastructure in Saxony and the Institute for Political Science at Dresden University of Technology—presented an initial assessment of theories and processes, along with concrete recommendations for action.

The title is:

Matthias Theodor Vogt, Erik Fritzsche, Christoph Meißelbach:

Arriving in the German Social World: Migrant Enculturation and Regional Resilience in One World

Foreword by Rita Süssmuth and Afterword by Olaf Zimmermann. European Journal of Minority Issues Vol. 9 No. 1-2. 2016. Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag 2016

Additional information about the research network can be found here!